Church of the Annunciation in Petrovsky Park
Each church is truly unique in its own way. Often we try to compare the architectural appearance of one temple with others, we try to find words and understand which one is more beautiful, we look for arguments, but in reality comparisons are inappropriate here, because each person has his own feeling and understanding of beauty. Every time I enter a new church, I understand how different they all, like people, are from each other. There are bright, shining churches, with many new icons, you go into these and understand: here it is, the triumph of Light, the halo of Orthodoxy. There are always a lot of people in such churches, and they go there with pleasure.
In villages you can find simple, artless temples, but wonderful in their modesty, solitude and humility. It is not the rings with stones and golden crosses given as gifts for miraculous healing that hang on the icons, but wonderful embroidered village towels and handkerchiefs given as gifts to the Mother of God.
There are churches in which there is absolutely no festive atmosphere, they are dark, sometimes even gloomy, but it is in such places that a ray of hope, spiritual insight sparkles even brighter, and tears of repentance shine. I want to tell you about one of these Temples.
In Moscow, near the Dynamo metro station, there is the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park, which belongs to the All Saints Deanery of the Moscow City Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The history of the Temple goes back almost two centuries: in 1841, Anna Dmitrievna Naryshkina, a friend of Catherine II, turned to Emperor Nicholas I and Metropolitan Philaret with a request to build a temple on the site of her dacha near Petrovsky Park.
Anna Naryshkina experienced great grief; her daughter died, and then her granddaughter also died. Naryshkina made a vow to herself that she would definitely build the Temple, and, having overcome all obstacles, she fulfilled her promise. The first project of the Temple was rejected by the tsar, most likely this was done due to the fact that the temple resembled the Peter the Great's Palace, located not far from this place. Soon, the project of another architect and restorer, a well-known person in his community, a participant in the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace, Fyodor Richter, was approved, and construction began in 1844, with a donation from Naryshkina. The architect wanted to make the dome of the bell tower elongated, parabolic, but this detail was crossed out by Tsar Nicholas I. The head of the church remained traditional, onion-shaped.
Construction was completed in 1847, the upper altar was consecrated in the name of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the lower ones: one in the name of Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess, the other in the name of the Venerable Xenophon and Mary. In 1901, new bells were purchased for the church. In 1904, the temple was expanded at the expense of the parishioners, an extension was made in which a throne was placed in the name of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God. The throne was consecrated on November 25, 1904. In 1916-1917, the walls and vaults were painted by the artist Alexander Borozdin. In 1934, the church was given to the Academy. Zhukovsky, it housed a warehouse, part of the bell tower and dome was dismantled, and the porch was damaged.
In 1991, the temple was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Academy of the Patriarchate was located at the temple. On September 6, 1997, on the day of the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the temple, restoration and restoration work was completely completed.
The main shrine of the temple is the icon “Lord Almighty, Ruler of the World”; it is located in the left corner of the iconostasis row. When you enter a church, you seem to find yourself in the darkness of your own sinfulness, in the depths of your own soul.
On the right on the iconostasis is an icon of the Almighty with huge eyes full of sadness, painted on three boards back in the 17th century. They say that the icon is more than 350 years old.
There is no humility in the icon; it fieryly strikes in the very heart, shocking with its depth. There is no artificiality or embellishment in it. This image is not from the world, it is far from aesthetics and grace. It was written by a stern, northern Russian man in a simple, naive language, without any figurativeness, without creative tasks, written as God put it in his soul to write to a simple, straightforward person.
There is something renounced, monastic, and strict about her. According to legend, it was created by the elder Dionysius Glushitsky in the 15th century.
In the twilight of the church, the eyes of the Almighty make an impression not on a superficial aesthetic level, but on some deep, subconscious level, they look from the depths of centuries. Every time I get the feeling that the image sternly says to the very last sinners, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41)
And every time, in the glow of candles, in the twilight of the church, under this direct and firm gaze, you vow to improve yourself.
The icon was allegedly found “by chance,” as Father Dimitry Smirnov says: two young men on the feast of the Assumption brought three old boards, a composition measuring 206 x 161.5, on it was a darkened image of Christ. The church had already assumed that the boards were much older than the painted Image and began to slowly clean the image, and under the layer of paint there was a huge eye of the Lord Almighty, the size of two palms!
There are no analogues to this icon in Moscow.
The throne icon is the icon of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, laid out in mosaics. It depicts the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. This icon is festive, elegant, and children love it very much. There are also ancient icons of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Matryona of Moscow, Seraphim of Sarov and many others; people come to these images of saints and to God for help and receive it.
There is a feeling in this church that a revival of Orthodoxy is taking place in its true, honest, unsophisticated form. Just as the icon of the Almighty returned from oblivion, having survived the revolution and persecution of the church under the “cover,” so the people who came to the Temple are gradually returning to the origins of their faith, to the beginning of their history.
The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos is a great holiday for the Orthodox people and is celebrated every year on a grand scale. Several large churches were built in his honor, but the most beautiful one stands in Petrovsky Park in Moscow. The temple is distinguished by the history of its construction and is inextricably linked with the family of the emperor and Anna Naryshkina.
It has long become popular among pilgrims not only for its interior decoration, but also for the beauty of the Petrovsky Park surrounding it. Before making a pilgrimage to it or attending services, it is useful to know the rich history of this structure.
Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park
History of the creation of the temple
This temple is invariably associated with the imperial family. Why is that?
Firstly, the sponsor and ideological inspirer was the chamberlain Anna Naryshkina, who wanted to build a church in Petrovsky Park in honor of her granddaughter Anna Bulgari. The girl died at the age of 13 and Naryshkina grieved for her for a long time.
Secondly, the construction permit was issued by decree of the emperor himself. Anna Naryshkina turned to him with a personal request when, having leased the territory of Petrovsky Park, she was denied construction there.
The fact is that this territory belonged to the parish of the Church of All Saints and its ministers were against the construction of another temple, because then they would lose significant income. And the Consistory Council approved the request for construction only after an appeal from the emperor himself. Rental of the park and construction according to the design of the architect F.F. Richter was fully sponsored by Naryshkina.
The Emperor also took part in the construction; it was he who approved Richter's project and refused Tyurkin, who was originally supposed to build it, because his project was too similar to Peter's Palace. Eventually, On April 7, 1844, the foundation stone for the Church of the Annunciation was laid, and by the end of 1844 most of the work was completed.
In 1847, Naryshkina notified Metropolitan Philaret about the end of construction and the finished decoration. The clergy were appointed from the church of St. Joachim and Anna from Bolshaya Yakimanka, and in total more than 200 thousand rubles were spent on construction, excluding the costs of purchasing utensils, books and other decorations. In addition, Naryshkina allocated 10,000 rubles for the maintenance of ministers and their housing.
The church did not immediately become a parish; Naryshkina’s first request for this was rejected and the church was left without a parish. This was done in favor of the All Saints Church. Anna Dmitrievna encouraged the residents of Petrovsky Park to draw up a new petition, which was satisfied by the Consistory.
The proximity to the imperial palace and the royal family was the reason for the growth of parishioners and the prosperity of the building itself. So, in 1856, it was renovated on the occasion of the coronation of Alexander II.
Mosaic icon of the Annunciation on the southern facade of the Annunciation Church in Petrovsky Park
Its history contains several important dates:
- 1881 - new houses for ministers were built by merchant I.V. Natruskin;
- 1880s - fence built;
- 1884 - construction of a parish school for young men begins;
- 1899 - major repairs and new consecration;
- 1901 - heavy bells are installed;
- 1900s - the building is expanded due to the construction of 2 side aisles and its reconstruction is carried out according to the design of I. Gavrilov;
- 1916-1917 - the interior of the lower church was decorated.
With the advent of Soviet power, the parish, like other church buildings, was seriously damaged. It was closed presumably in 1934 and rebuilt, for which nearby wooden buildings were destroyed.
Attention! Only in the 1990s did its reconstruction and restoration begin, shortly after its transfer back to the Orthodox Church in 1991 and re-consecration. In 1997, the temple was 150 years old. It has become a place of pilgrimage and just regular visits by local parishioners and everyone.
Description of the temple architecture
The basis for the project was the Church of John the Baptist in the village of Dyakovo, which belongs to the pillar-type church. The building was erected in two tiers: the lower floor is rectangular in shape and the upper floor is octagonal. On top were triangular and semicircular kokoshniks. The roof was crowned with a large dome. Narrow long windows from floor to ceiling were made large - the entire edge of the upper building. A porch or porch was placed on the western part.
The main style is Russian, all the stairs and kokoshniks were decorated in it. Features of the Russian style are also present in the bell tower on the roof, which was made into a hipped roof with 4 sides.
Iconostasis of the lower temple of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The throne is in the upper temple, and the limits are in the lower. They are dedicated to the saints: the first - to Simeon the God-Receiver and the Prophetess Anna, the second - to saints Xenophon and Mary. The dome is traditionally bow-shaped, covered with gold leaf and two-story. The second floor is not heated, so services are held there only in the warm season.
For information! The main difference between the church is its unusual color, because the entire building is painted with bright coral paint, against which the white stone columns and simple external decorations look great and stand out.
There are also icons laid out in mosaics. The building is surrounded by a green lawn and park alleys, and the role of a fence is played by a forged lattice on white stone pillars.
Shrines and current work of the temple
The temple contains a number of shrines of the Orthodox Church. Among them are icons:
- mosaic type “Annunciation” - the image of Gabriel and the Virgin Mary at the moment of communicating the Good News;
- “Lord Almighty” - created in the 17th century, the image contains the image of Jesus as the Heavenly King and judge;
- Iveron Virgin Mary - the image “Guide” depicts the Virgin Mary as the Mother of Christ;
- “Prayer for the Cup” - showing the torment of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane;
- Mitrofan of Voronezh and part of his relics.
In the parish courtyard there is also the grave cross of St. Valentine. In addition to shrines, there are also holidays:
- April 7 - Annunciation;
- July 1 - Bogolyubsky's feast of the Virgin Mary;
- February 16 - Simeon the God-Receiver and St. Anna;
- February 8 - Saint Xenophon and his family.
Anyone can take part in the festive liturgy, which is held at 7 and 9 am, as well as at 5 pm. On regular days, services are held at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
In addition to regular services, other social work is carried out here:
- Sunday school for children from 5 years old;
- theater and music clubs;
- evangelical youth meetings;
- family club;
- singing school;
- gymnasium "Svet";
- orphanage and camp;
- patronage service.
A detailed schedule can be seen on the website http://xn-80abedlaaxvzh8k.xn-80adxhks/.
Location
The church is located in Moscow, on Krasnoarmeyskaya Street.
You can get to the temple in several ways from metro stations:
- “Dynamo” - go towards Teatralnaya Alley, diagonally through Petrovsky Park to Komarov Square;
- “Airport” - from the southern lobby, take bus 105 or H1 or trolleybus 6, 12, or 82 to the stop “Ulitsa Seregina” and then walk;
- "Begovaya" take the T8 bus and get to the "Travel Palace";
- “Belorussky Station” - at the “Tverskaya Zastava” stop, change to bus 456 or M1 to “Ulitsa Seregina”.
The Church of the Annunciation in Moscow is an important part of the entire Orthodox Church and deserves to be visited at least once. The inner beauty and special spiritual atmosphere will not leave anyone indifferent.
Bells ringing in the Church of the Annunciation in Petrovsky Park
Temples of Moscow: Church of the Annunciation in Petrovsky Park
Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park - Airport - Northern Administrative District (NAO) - Moscow
The history of Petrovsky Park stretches back centuries. Among historians, there are several versions about the origin of the name. The Petrovsky Park itself, named after the traveling Petrovsky Palace, was built in the first half of the 19th century. According to the traditional, most famous version, Petrovsky Park was laid out on lands that once belonged to the Moscow Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery - the same monastery that gave its name to the Petrovka street on which it is located.
Local dacha owner Anna Dmitrievna Naryshkina founded the Annunciation Church here in the first half of the 19th century. Here, at the dacha in Petrovsky Park, her thirteen-year-old granddaughter Anna Bulgari died, and before that she buried her only daughter, Countess Maria Bulgari. The woman, in grief, vowed to build a church on the site of the girl’s death and in 1842 submitted a corresponding petition to St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow and Tsar Nicholas I. Anna Dmitrievna was the wife of a chamberlain and had land rented from the Moscow Palace Office, and promised to move her dacha at an appropriate distance from the new temple, donate 200 thousand rubles for its construction, provide utensils, contribute another 10 thousand for the maintenance of the priests and provide them with housing.
The location for the temple was very suitable for its potential parishioners. Even earlier, the caretaker of the Petrovsky Palace reported that local summer residents would like to have their own parish church here. After all, the closest were only the temple in the village of Vsekhsvyatskoye and the Church of St. Basil of Caesarea on 1st Tverskaya Yamskaya, to which the summer residents of the St. Petersburg highway were assigned. Both churches were located at a considerable distance from Petrovsky Park. And the owners of dachas already in 1835 asked to build them a summer tent church - only for the dacha season - in the backyard of the Peter the Great's Palace. Then the emperor did not allow this to be done, and the summer residents lived here temporarily and could not form a full-fledged parish. The new temple being built by Naryshkina would have eliminated all these difficulties, but it turned out to have a rather difficult path.
Attributed to the Church of St. Mitrofan of Voronezh on Khutorskaya Street in Moscow.
Firstly, this area near the palace was under the special control of the palace department. Under Nicholas I, the Petrovsky Palace became not only Putev, but also a country imperial residence, with the corresponding status. Any little thing had to be coordinated for a long time and often received permission from the emperor himself. Secondly, the question of parish suddenly arose. The potential local parish, as it turned out, officially belonged to the All Saints Church (on Sokol), and its rector objected to the construction of a new church for the sake of preserving his parish and maintaining the church generously. Naryshkina received a refusal from the Moscow Spiritual Consistory, where they also pointed out to her that the funds allocated by her were not enough for the proper maintenance of the temple, and the lands of the Palace Office could be developed only with her permission. And then Naryshkina turned to the sovereign himself, who authorized the construction of the temple in the same year of 1843. It was prescribed to pray in it for the temple builder and her family.
Now clergy had to be appointed for the temple and, after consecration, a parish should be determined. To build a temple near the imperial palace, according to the decision of the Consistory, a particularly experienced architect was required. The first to be appointed was the famous Evgraf Tyurin, the architect of the Epiphany Cathedral in Elokhov and the Tatyana Church of Moscow University. His project involved the construction of a temple-copy of the Peter's Palace - a temple with two bell towers, galleries and a huge dome, which was not allowed by the emperor, since the church had nothing to do with the Peter's Palace other than its location. And the architect of the Annunciation Church was Fyodor Richter, director of the Moscow Palace School of Architecture, who participated in the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace. It was he who restored the chambers of the Romanov boyars on Varvarka, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, III degree, and for the work “Monuments of Ancient Russian Architecture” he was awarded a diamond ring.
However, the emperor also rejected Richter's first project. The architect designed it based on the ancient Moscow Church of John the Baptist in Dyakovo near Kolomenskoye: the pillar-shaped bell tower was crowned with a huge parabolic dome. In the next project, which was approved in St. Petersburg, the dome was made of a hipped roof, and the dome of the temple itself was made into a traditional Moscow onion. In addition, the temple became two-story: the Annunciation throne was consecrated on the second floor, where there was no heating - services were held there in the summer.
In his altar there was a large icon “Prayer for the Chalice”. And in the lower tier they built chapels in the name of the Venerables Xenophon and Mary and their children and Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess - on the name day of the temple builder. In addition to the project itself, Nicholas I even approved the version of the carved iconostasis, and after the august approval, the architect could not change a single detail during the work.
The temple was solemnly founded on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1844. It was consecrated already in 1847, but only the upper church. It was arranged magnificently, generously, with silver, gilding, enamel, velvet, and had no shortage of utensils or liturgical books. In addition, for the maintenance of the temple, Naryshkina transferred 25 thousand rubles in banknotes to the treasury of the Moscow Board of Trustees. The clergy were appointed from the Church of St. Joachim and Anna on Bolshaya Yakimanka. However, the beautiful temple, designated for the Nikitsky Forty of Moscow, was declared... unattended.
The point was as follows. After the consecration of the temple in the same year, 1847, Naryshkina turned to the Consistory with a request to determine the parish of the newly built church from local summer residents living near it. The request was refused in order to avoid the ruin of the parish of the All Saints Church. The Annunciation Church could accept under its canopy any believer who wished to enter it, but at the same time not have its own permanent parish. Naryshkina, without losing her spiritual strength, persuaded the summer residents of Petrovsky Park to write a petition for permission to be registered in the parish of the newly built church - after all, these were very eminent people.
More than thirty signatures were on this petition, but it turned out that most of those who signed lived here temporarily, for the summer season, and many of them, like Prince Obolensky, found it even more convenient to go to the Vasilyevsky Church on Tverskaya. As a result, the issue was resolved peacefully and in favor of the new temple. The parish was formed from summer residents who signed Naryshkina’s petition and had previously been parishioners of the All Saints Church. The servants of the noble summer residents of Petrovsky Park and soldiers from the Khodynsky Field barracks were also assigned here, to the Annunciation Church. And those who lived on the Petersburg highway remained in the parish of Vasilyevskaya Church.
The fate of the Annunciation Church was influenced by its proximity to the imperial palace. Very soon after the consecration, the first repairs were made to the church due to the fact that in 1856 they were expecting the coronation of Emperor Alexander II, and a palace was being prepared for him. It is known that the Petrovsky Palace was the favorite place of residence of Alexander the Liberator. As usual, without security, every morning he walked along the alleys of Petrovsky Park with his dog. Under him, by the way, it was allowed to allow everyone into the palace to inspect it, except for those days when the imperial family stayed here, and these excursions were free
And after the next renovation of the temple at the beginning of the twentieth century, unique wonderful bells appeared on its bell tower with images of the Holy Trinity, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God, St. Nicholas, the holy righteous Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess, the Venerable Xenophon and Mary.
"RED LEAVES, GRAY EARTH"
Marina Tsvetaeva wrote so figuratively about Petrovsky Park. The era of capitalism, which began after the Great Reforms of Alexander the Liberator, changed both Petrovsky Park and the parish of the Annunciation Church. In the second half of the 19th century, Petrovsky Park remained a favorite place for both summer cottages and entertainment, only now other summer residents and other entertainment appeared here. Here the rich, merchants, industrialists and other new capitalist nobility began to build villas - they brought their entertainment here in the form of restaurants with gypsy choirs and revelries. The first of all to settle near Petrovsky Park was the famous restaurant “Yar”, which occupied the former property of Senator Bashilov back in 1836; Gogol especially loved to dine here. Among the merchants, “Yar” was most popular; later, the next most famous “Strelna” and “Mauritania” appeared, which ended up on the pages of Leskov and Leo Tolstoy.
However, Petrovsky Park itself was still intended for Sunday festivities, with carriage rides and tea parties. Even aeronauts floated in hot air balloons over the expanses of Petrovsky Park and jumped with parachutes, entertaining the people. In the pre-reform era, the “elegant public” still walked here - in the evenings, when there was less dust, they rode horses and in carriages, showing off outfits and decorations, right down to the coachman’s clothes. However, the aristocrats have already begun to be noticeably crowded out by a simpler public - townspeople, peasants and, most importantly, merchants of all stripes...
Patronal holiday
The church operates: general education and Sunday schools, sisterhood, youth camp, military-patriotic service, museum, library, bookstore and pharmacy.
Shrines: Revered icon “Image of the Lord Almighty, Ruler of the World” (miraculous icon “Savior” (XVII century).)
So in the summer, rulers went to Petrovsky Park, in winter sleighs with a conductor, and in 1899 the first electric tram went here from Strastnaya Square, so many people wanted to walk in Petrovsky Park and live here in their dachas. Shortly before the revolution, there was even a project to build a ground metro line here. In addition to festivities and restaurants, the Moscow public was still attracted by the theater and the long-lived voxel: pianist Anton Rubenstein made his first public performance here, Franz Liszt played music here, and A.F. appeared on its stage in 1863. Pisarev - he played the role of the character Ananias in his own drama “Bitter Fate”. And in 1887, the famous actress Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina made her debut here in a play based on the novel by Dumas the Elder. Only at the end of the 19th century was the completely dilapidated station demolished, and the Palace Department willingly handed over the lands of the park for new dacha development. Pisemsky himself, I.S. Turgenev, and even the “forgiven” Decembrists who returned from exile in the late 1850s, who were forbidden to live in Moscow, now lived in the dachas here - among them was Ivan Pushchin, a friend of Pushkin.
The park itself was slowly falling into disrepair, trees were not planted, alleys were not maintained, there was no lighting, since the palace department did not pay due attention to it. However, the local population grew, and at its expense the parish of the Annunciation Church greatly increased. In 1904, at the expense of parishioners, it was rebuilt with a significant expansion - now the temple could accommodate up to two thousand pilgrims. At the same time, the revered ancient Bogolyubskaya icon of the Mother of God appeared here. The temple was painted again only in 1917, and then its interior was finally formed. Alexander Dmitrievich Borozdin, the chief artist of the icon-painting workshop of His Imperial Majesty, worked on the painting, in whose house Elder Aristocles, recently canonized, often visited.
Borozdin executed the original plafond of the “Annunciation” in the main church, and copied for one of the chapels the rare image “The Sermon of Jesus Christ in a Boat”, compiled by an unknown artist, and also reproduced the composition “God the Son” by V. Vasnetsov - all this was destroyed. The life of Borodin, who was arrested on the third day after the outbreak of war in 1941 on charges of anti-Soviet agitation for “strengthening religious influence among the working people,” also ended tragically. There is a legend that he was denounced by the false metropolitan A. Vvedensky himself, the head of the renovationist schism, with which Borozdin was also familiar. A year later, Borozdin died in Saratov prison - and his funeral service took place in the Annunciation Church only in June 1998, when the temple itself was returned to believers
And at that time, life around the renovated temple also changed a lot. The famous villa of Nikolai Ryabushinsky “Black Swan”, built for the “naughty” tycoon by architects G. Adamovich and V. Mayanov, has survived to this day: in the booth instead of a dog there was a tame leopard, and peacocks and pheasants walked around the garden. Nearby, Shekhtel built a dacha for I.V. Morozova. Here was also the country villa of the Swiss watchmaker William Gabu, the main competitor of Bure and Moser. He founded his watch company in Moscow in 1868 with a store on the prestigious Nikolskaya Street, which was extremely popular among Muscovites. The poet Velimir Khlebnikov and the composer Sergei Rachmaninov lived in Petrovsky Park, who, as a student at the conservatory, was recovering here in his father’s house after a serious illness.
And on the current street on March 8, since 1903, there was the famous psychiatric clinic of Dr. F. Usoltsev, who set it up in a home style for gifted patients: they were here in the position of guests of the doctor’s family. The most famous of them was M. Vrubel, who painted a portrait of Bryusov here. The artist V.E. also visited here. Borisov-Musatov, who visited the wife of a close friend and also painted a portrait from life here, according to legend, borrowed colors from Vrubel. (In Soviet times, the Central Moscow Regional Clinical Psychiatric Hospital was established on the basis of the Usoltsev Clinic).
One of the first animal shelters opened in Petrovsky Park itself. Basically, old horses, sick and crippled, and all those who were abandoned by their owners lived out their lives here: here they were not only fed, but also looked after and provided with medical care - a full-time veterinarian served at the shelter.
However, all this had an adverse effect on the park - more and more of it was cut down for construction. And the popularity of Petrovsky Park as a place for Sunday relaxation and walks began to decline by the beginning of the twentieth century. Only in 1907 did the Tsar forbid the palace department from distributing the lands of Petrovsky Park for dacha development, where they overlooked the Petersburg Highway.
Near these places one of the first ominous signals of the coming revolution sounded. In 1869, revolutionary Sergei Nechaev organized the brutal murder of Ivanov, a student at the Petrovsky Agricultural Academy, for refusing to unquestioningly obey him. This high-profile murder took place in the academy park and, having thundered throughout Russia, ended up on the pages of Dostoevsky’s novel “Demons,” where Nechaev became the prototype of Peter Verkhovensky. This happened not in Petrovsky Park itself, but in another, main wing of the ancient village of Petrovsky, which later became known as Petrovsko-Razumovsky.
The revolution opened a black page in the annals of both the Annunciation Church and Petrovsky Park.
Since the same 1918, Petrovsky Park became one of the most tragic places in Soviet Moscow - here, on the remote outskirts, KGB executions took place, especially after Fanny Kaplan’s attempt on Lenin’s life and the announcement of the Red Terror in September 1918. It was here that among the first to be shot was the new martyr, Archpriest John Vostorgov, the last rector of the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat on Red Square, who was canonized at the Jubilee Council, as was Bishop Ephraim of Selinga, who died with him. Former Minister of Internal Affairs N.A. was also executed here. Maklakov, former Chairman of the State Council of Russia I.G. Shcheglovitov, former minister A.N. Khvostov and Senator I.I. Beletsky. Before execution, they offered their last prayer to the Lord and came under the last blessing of the shepherds. Father John in his last word called on them to believe in God’s mercy and the coming revival of Russia.
And the Annunciation Church was closed presumably in 1934 and followed “their” Petrovsky Palace - its building was also transferred to the academy. Zhukovsky and built a warehouse in it, completely destroying the interior. Its last rector, Archpriest Avenir Polozov, then served in the church at the Danilovsky cemetery, where he himself rested in 1936. The barbaric destruction of the Annunciation Church continued after the war - alien tiers were built on, the domes and porch were broken, and the bell tower was used for... a hanging crane.
Mosaic icon of the Trinity on the northern facade of the Annunciation Church in Petrovsky Park in Moscow.
The Soviet government had its own plans for this picturesque area, partly echoing its pre-revolutionary history. We are talking about an experimental “art town” on Maslovka, built in 1930-1950 for artists. It was planned to build comfortable houses that would relieve talented residents from everyday problems, and the landscape of Petrovsky Park would inspire them to creativity. The main newcomer of the Soviet era in this area was the Institute of Aviation Medicine, which settled in the building of the former Mauritania restaurant. Here, domestic space biology and medicine were born, and they prepared the first flights into space for dogs, and then for humans. S.P. was also here. Korolev, and Yuri Gagarin.
A new page in the history of the Annunciation Church began in 1991, when the Air Force Academy vacated the building and it was returned to the Church: on September 29, the Divine Liturgy was held here for the first time. And then followed a long, painstaking restoration of the paintings and domes. Only in 1997, when the 150th anniversary of the temple was celebrated (from the date of Naryshkina’s petition), Patriarch Alexy II consecrated the temple, which had been brought back to life, with the full rank of bishop. Its main shrine was the icon of the Lord Almighty, the Ruler of the World, which is believed to have no analogues.
It is much older than the Annunciation Church, and came to it by the Providence of God - young people brought three large dark boards to the temple, on which the Face of the Savior was visible in the iconography of the 19th century, but under it an earlier, huge image of the shoulder-length Savior was revealed, belonging to the type of icons of the northern letter mid-17th century. In the open Gospel, which the Savior holds, it is written: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for you before the foundation of the world, for you hungered.” It is impossible not to quote the lines about this icon of one of our contemporary: “The image is unworldly and high in heavenly heights. The surprised gaze of the Savior from Heaven is fixed on us sinners.”
The Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is, in fact, the only independent building of Richter, who became famous mainly as a talented restorer (he restored the famous chambers of the Romanov boyars on Varvarka), an expert and researcher of ancient Russian architecture, one of the pioneers in the study of pre-Petrine artistic heritage. The building consists from the high octagonal pillar-shaped volume of the temple itself, raised on the basement, completed by a light drum with a helmet-shaped dome, and a vestibule with a bell tower rising above it.
And on the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 28, 1997, another shrine appeared at the temple: the granddaughter of Fr. Avenira Polozova brought the family icon of the Iveron Mother of God to the temple. The rector bequeathed it to be donated to the Annunciation Church when it is reopened for worship...
In the basement a winter church was built in honor of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God.
Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God.
In 1157, the holy noble Grand Duke of Suzdal Andrei Yurievich (Georgievich), one of the first collectors and builders of the Russian land, named Bogolyubsky for his piety, left Vyshgorod and headed to his homeland, the Rostov-Suzdal land.
Accompanying Saint Prince Andrew was the miraculous icon of the Most Holy Theotokos, which was later named Vladimir and became the patroness of the entire Russian land. On June 18, about ten miles from Vladimir, the cart with the icon suddenly stopped for no apparent reason, and the horses could not move it. Replacing horses also led to nothing. Prince Andrei ordered a prayer service to be performed in honor of the Mother of God in front of Her miraculous icon, then prayed alone in a tent. During fervent prayer, the Queen of Heaven Herself appeared to the prince and ordered the miraculous icon to be placed in Vladimir, and in this place to build a temple and monastery in honor of Her Nativity
The miraculous icon was solemnly returned to Vladimir, and at the site of the appearance of the Mother of God, Prince Andrei founded the white stone Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and founded a monastery. In memory of the fact that the Mother of God loved this place, the monastery began to be called Bogolyubsky. Later, the city that arose nearby was also named the same.
Inspired by the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos, Saint Prince Andrew, who from then on began to be called Andrei Bogolyubsky, ordered an icon to be painted on a cypress board, depicting the Most Pure Virgin as She appeared to him. In the icon, the Mother of God is depicted standing with her hands raised in prayer and with her face turned to the Lord Jesus Christ who appeared to Her. In her right hand, the Mother of God holds a charter with Her prayer to Her Son: “May He bless this place, chosen by Her.” The newly painted icon was solemnly transferred to the erected Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and named Bogolyubivaya, or Bogolyubskaya.
Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the church
Thrones
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Bogolyubsk Icon of the Mother of God
Holy Righteous Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess
Saint Xenophon and Mary and their children Arkady and John
Shrines
The main shrine of the temple is the icon of the Lord Almighty, it is located in the left corner of the iconostasis row. The image dates back to the 17th century. The throne icon is the icon of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, laid out in mosaic. It depicts the Archangel Gabriel and the Virgin Mary. When the temple was being restored, the abbot bought ancient icons for it
The park surrounding the Petrovsky Travel Palace was once much larger. Much of his heritage has been lost irretrievably, but a unique church has been preserved - a monument to the granddaughter who died early from an inconsolable grandmother.
In the 1820s, behind the Petrovsky Travel Palace on the Petersburg Highway, created by decree of Catherine II in 1775-1782, an extensive landscape park was laid out. It was named Petrovsky. The area quickly became popular with Muscovites who took walks here: a summer theater and a building for concerts, swings, gazebos, billiard rooms and other entertainment venues appeared. Also, part of the land of the new park was given to Moscow nobles for the construction of country dachas. Not far from the palace, the dacha of the chamberlain's wife Anna Dmitrievna Naryshkina appeared, who suffered grief in 1841: her granddaughter, Countess Anna Bulgari, died here. For this reason, she asked Emperor Nicholas I and Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow to allow her to build a temple in memory of her granddaughter on the site of her own dacha, which was granted.
The initial design of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park belonged to the architect, but was rejected by the authorities: according to it, the new two-bell church with galleries would turn into a smaller copy of the Petrovsky Palace. An alternative option was proposed by the architect F.F. Richter - it was brought to life in 1844-1847. The prototype of the Annunciation Church was the ancient Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist in Dyakovo, today located on the territory of the museum in Kolomenskoye - this type of temple is called “pillar-shaped”. The building was built on two levels: the octagon of the upper church was placed on the rectangular lower church in plan, ending with semicircular and triangular kokoshniks with one wide helmet-shaped head on a drum. At the same time, the edges of the upper church are cut through by long narrow windows reaching to the floor. Adjacent to the church from the west is a vast porch with two staircases, decorated in the Russian style and topped with a tetrahedral hipped bell tower.
In the upper church there was a main altar in the name of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, while in the lower church chapels appeared: the first - in the name of Simeon the God-Receiver and Anna the Prophetess, the second - in the name of the Venerable Xenophon and Mary. All names were given in honor of the patron saints of the temple builder, her late granddaughter and other relatives. In 1904, in a new extension to the lower church, an additional chapel was consecrated in the name of the Bogolyubskaya Icon of the Mother of God. In 1916‑1917, artist A.D. Borozdin re-painted the walls and vaults of the church.
The exact date of the cessation of services in the Church of the Annunciation has not been established; it happened somewhere in the mid-1930s. Petrovsky Park became the site of mass executions in 1918; later its territory was significantly reduced: the dachas were demolished, most of the land was transferred for the construction of the Dynamo stadium and other sports facilities attached to it. Converted into a warehouse, the temple came under the jurisdiction of the Zhukovsky Academy, located in the Petrovsky Travel Palace. The temple lost its completion and the interiors were also seriously damaged. Since 1991, services have been held in the Annunciation Church again; restoration work has returned it to its former appearance.
Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the 1830s, Petrovsky Park, where the shrine stands today, was a favorite place for festivities and recreation for Muscovites. Buying a dacha here was considered a great success.
One of the owners of the dacha in Petrovsky was Anna Naryshkina, the chamberlain’s wife.
When Anna Dmitrievna lost her daughter, and after some time her granddaughter, who died at her dacha in Petrovskoye, the woman wanted to build a church on this place, which reminded her of the sad events.
Naryshkina addressed the emperor with such a request. When permission was received, construction of the temple in Petrovsky Park began immediately.
History of the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary
The architect E. Tyurin worked on the initial project.
The building of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park was planned to be built in two tiers, with two bell towers and galleries. But in this form, the building was very reminiscent of the Petrovsky Palace, which Nicholas I did not like.
The new project of the Church of the Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park was already developed by the architect F. Richter.
Academician, professor, this man was widely known in architectural circles. Richter was one of the first to measure the best churches in Russia and study them.
The architect based the concept of his new project - the temple in Petrovsky Park - on a 16th-century building that he had once studied: the Church of John the Baptist.
Construction work began in 1844.
The building was erected entirely at Naryshkina’s expense. After 3 years, the church was built and its upper tier was consecrated.
In 1899, the painting of the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary was updated, the iconostasis was covered with gold, and then consecrated again in July.
After the revolution, the history of the church turned out to be painfully predictable. However, it is not known exactly when the temple was closed - presumably in 1934.
For a long time the building was used as a warehouse for furniture and food. In the 50-60s. Crosses and domes are removed from the shrine, the porch and fence are dismantled, and a hanging crane is installed on the bell tower.
Revival of the temple in Petrovsky Park
In 1991, the Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary was returned to the Orthodox Church. In September of the same year, a liturgy took place in the dilapidated building for the first time in such a long time.
Restoration work began immediately.
Gilded domes soon began to rise above the temple, and mosaic images of the church’s saints appeared on the façade of the building. The porch was restored and a bell was installed on the bell tower. The wall paintings inside the church were restored, and a new iconostasis took its place.
In 1997, the anniversary year for the shrine, the thrones of the temple were consecrated again.
Today the temple is operational and its doors, as before, are always open to parishioners.
Address of the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Petrovsky Park: Moscow, Krasnoarmeyskaya, 2 (Dynamo metro station).
